LÀO CAI — Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hòa Bình has asked the public security ministry and the local people’s committee to investigate and quickly arrest the murderer(s) of four people in Lào Cai.

The victims, who were four members of a family, were found dead in Bát Xát District’s Trịnh Tường Commune in the northern mountainous province, following an incident of suspected robbery last Tuesday evening.

The robber(s) ransacked the house and stole more than VNĐ10 million (US$434).

Based on clues collected from the scene, the local police said a man was the prime suspect in the case, Người Lao Động (Labourer) online newspaper reported.

The suspect lived near the house of the victims and has been missing since the day of the massacre, the police said.

Col Nguyễn Văn Thái, deputy head of the local border guard, yesterday said hundreds of soldiers had been mobilised to find the killer.

Local residents and the task force for drug crime prevention were also called to join the search for the murderer, he said. — VNS